Presidential Office Discloses Special Activity, Business Operation, and Specific Task Expenses
First-Ever Disclosure of Special Activity and Specific Task Funds by Any Administration
Scope of Business Operation Expense Disclosure Expanded Beyond
President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung, departing to attend the United Nations General Assembly, are boarding Air Force One at Seongnam Seoul Airport on the 22nd, greeting the farewell crowd. Photo by Yonhap News
On September 23, the Office of the President publicly disclosed, for the first time in the history of previous administrations, the details of expenditures for special activity funds and specific task expenses. Since President Lee took office, the Office of the President has spent approximately 460 million won in special activity funds. In addition, the scope of disclosure for business promotion expenses has been expanded compared to previous administrations.
According to the data released by the Office of the President on this day, a total of 464,226,000 won was spent on special activity funds from June to August this year. Special activity funds are expenses directly used for state affairs that require confidentiality, such as diplomacy and national security. In the past, the Office of the President did not disclose the use of these funds, which often led to controversy over the lack of transparency in tax spending.
The largest portion of special activity funds was spent on "diplomacy and security." The Office of the President spent 158,025,000 won on building and managing diplomatic, security, and policy networks; 98,452,000 won on listening to public opinion and managing or mediating conflicts; 97,008,000 won on collecting and managing information related to current state affairs, public office corruption, and personnel matters; 58,541,000 won on strengthening national identity and symbolism; and 52,200,000 won on consoling the public and supporting vulnerable groups.
The Office of the President stated, "Since confidentiality is essential to special activity funds, there are inherent limitations to public disclosure," but added, "We decided to disclose execution information in order to respect past court rulings and to demonstrate that the people's valuable tax money is being properly managed."
A total of 978,381,421 won was spent on business promotion expenses. Of this, 353,753,460 won was used for hosting major domestic and international guests; 344,723,180 won was spent on purchasing souvenirs, holiday gifts, and condolence wreaths; and 279,904,781 won was allocated for meetings with the public and related organizations on key state affairs.
The Office of the President mentioned, "Previous administrations only disclosed the amount spent by category and examples of expenditures, but the Lee Jae-myung administration has decided to disclose daily execution details to enhance the transparency of budget execution."
Specific task expenses amounted to 19,141,980 won. These are expenses incurred for conducting specific tasks such as investigations, audits, budgeting, and research. No institution had previously disclosed the details of these expenses, but for the first time, they have been made public together with special activity funds and business promotion expenses.
The Office of the President stated, "We expect that this first-ever disclosure of execution information will expand the public's right to know, encourage participation in state affairs, and significantly enhance the transparency of national administration," adding, "We will continue to responsibly execute the national budget where it is truly needed and regularly disclose related information."
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